Good afternoon,
everyone. And thank you so much Elisa for your incredibly kind
introduction, but even more I want to thank you for your long career
fighting the good fight, and for your dedicated leadership of Human
Rights First. For more than three decades, this group has been a
clarion voice in defense of human dignity and the rights and freedom
of people everywhere. And it really is my deep honor to be with you
today.

Sixty-five years ago
this month, representatives to the United Nations General Assembly
came together to adopt
the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
-- a
worldwide recognition that all members of our human family are born
possessing certain equal and inalienable rights. These same rights
are reflected in the founding documents of the United States, and we
cherish them as part of our national character. But, as President
Obama has said, just because some truths are self-evident doesn’t
mean they are self-executing. We have to work relentlessly to make
them real. We must constantly question and challenge ourselves to
be on the right side of history -- to do our part so that more and
more of our fellow human beings can enjoy the rights and freedoms,
which are the birthright of all mankind.

Our history is filled
with champions who have fought to bring us closer to our ideals --
from Dr. King and the thousands who marched on Washington 50 years
ago to “Battling” Bella Abzug, from Cesar Chavez to Harvey Milk and
countless others. I know everyone in this room believes, as I do,
that continuing their work at home and expanding it around the globe
is our great commission as the inheritors of their legacy.

For me, the struggle for
equal human rights is deeply personal. It’s essential to who I am
as an American. I can never forget that I am the daughter of proud
citizens who suffered the indignities of Jim Crow. Nor can I forget
that, in 1964, the year of my birth, in many parts of this great
country, people who looked like me could not vote or marry someone
who looks like my husband. The unfinished battle for equality and
human dignity is not only what drives me as a public servant, it is
my central duty as the mother of my two children to make sure they
never encounter any limitations on their dreams because of who they
are or what they look like.

No one understands this
profound responsibility more keenly than President Obama. From his
Nobel Prize acceptance speech to his remarks at the United Nations
in September, he has been clear about the principles that guide us
and to which we hold ourselves accountable, even as we navigate an
increasingly complex world of competing and overlapping challenges.

Make no mistake:
advancing democracy and respect for human rights is central to our
foreign policy. It’s what our history and our values demand, but
it’s also profoundly in our interests. That is why the United
States remains firmly committed to promoting freedom, opportunity
and prosperity everywhere. We stand proudly for the rights of
women, the LGBT community and minorities. We defend the freedom for
all people to worship as they choose, and we champion open
government and civil society, freedom of assembly and a free press.

We support these rights
and freedoms with a wide range of tools, because history shows that
nations that respect the rights of all their citizens are more just,
more prosperous and more secure. And while it’s neither effective
nor desirable to advance human rights through the barrel of a gun,
we have made clear that, in the face of imminent mass atrocities,
there may be times when it is appropriate to use force to protect
the innocent from the very worst crimes. But, we cannot and we
should not bear that burden alone.

Yet, obviously,
advancing human rights is not and has never been our only interest.
Every U.S. president has a sworn duty to protect the lives and the
fortunes of the American people against immediate threats. That is
President Obama’s first responsibility, and mine. We must defend
the United States, our citizens and our allies with every tool at
our disposal, including, when necessary, with military force. We
must do all we can to counter weapons of mass destruction,
aggression, terrorism, and catastrophic threats to the global
economy, upon which our way of life depends. Anything less would be
a dereliction of duty.

As we seek to secure
these core interests, we sometimes face painful dilemmas when the
immediate need to defend our national security clashes with our
fundamental commitment to democracy and human rights. Let’s be
honest: at times, as a result, we do business with governments that
do not respect the rights we hold most dear. We make tough
choices. When rights are violated, we continue to advocate for
their protection. But we cannot, and I will not pretend that some
short-term tradeoffs do not exist.

Still, over time, we
know that our core interests are inseparable from our core values,
that our commitment to democracy and human rights roundly reinforces
our national security. The greatest threats to our security often
emerge from countries with the worst human rights records. Witness
Iran and North Korea, which have stoked tensions with the world, in
part to prolong their repressive rule at home. By contrast, when we
are able to strengthen societies through our support for democracy
and human rights, we plow the ground for greater cooperation among
responsible nations on issues of mutual concern. So, the fact is:
American foreign policy must sometimes strike a difficult balance --
not between our values and our interests, because these almost
invariably converge with time, but more often between our short and
long-term imperatives.

During the past five
years, we’ve employed a variety of means to spur governments to
respect the universal rights of their people -- and to hold them
accountable when they do not.

Wherever President Obama
goes, he speaks both publicly and privately to highlight human
rights abuses and to help nations see that protecting the rights of
their people is ultimately in their self-interest. We use the
unmatched strength of our economy to apply financial pressure,
including sanctions, on those that violate human rights. We
leverage our military aid and other forms of bilateral support to
encourage countries to live up to their international commitments.
We allocate significant resources to assistance programs that foster
human rights, the rule of law and good governance. Our senior
leaders engage directly with civil society, both to show our support
and to hear what is really happening on the ground. And, we work
closely with multilateral institutions to marshal a coordinated
international response to human rights violations.

Under President Obama,
we joined the United Nations Human Rights Council in the face of
domestic opposition. And, for all its continuing flaws, we’ve
succeeded in making it a more effective institution that has shed
light on abuses in Qadhafi’s Libya, Sri Lanka, Syria, Sudan, North
Korea and Iran. And I want to salute my friend and colleague Eileen
Donahoe who is a good reason and a major reason for that success in
Geneva. Thank you so much Eileen. We’ve worked cooperatively with
the International Criminal Court to foster accountability for the
worst crimes. Together with our international partners, we helped
to midwife the peaceful emergence of an independent South Sudan. In
Cote D’Ivoire, we worked through the United Nations to arrest
spiraling violence and enable the duly-elected leader of Cote
d’Ivoire to take office after a despot stubbornly refused to cede
power. Just recently, we backed regional diplomacy and a robust UN
force to help usher the M23 militia off the battlefield in eastern
Congo, yielding the promise of progress for the first time in many
years.

In Burma, after long and
effective pressure, including tough sanctions and persistent calls
to end Aung San Suu Kyi’s house arrest and release political
prisoners, we are now working to help Burma take steps towards
inclusive democracy and national reconciliation. In the Western
Hemisphere, we joined in beating back efforts to limit the autonomy
of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and its special
rapporteur for freedom of expression. And, backed by a UN Security
Council mandate, we led, with our partners in NATO and the Arab
League, an unprecedented international intervention to prevent mass
atrocities in Libya.

Around the world, we
call to account the world’s worst abusers, from Iran to Syria, from
Eritrea to Zimbabwe, from North Korea to Sudan. These governments
crush the rights of their people and use the tyrant’s toolkit of
repression to retain power. Some have systematically slaughtered
their own citizens, as in the genocide in Darfur.

In Syria, even as we
provide humanitarian assistance and make rapid progress toward
eliminating the threat of chemical weapons, our work continues to
end the violence that has claimed more than 100,000 lives and to see
the perpetrators of atrocities held accountable. In Iran, as we
test the potential for a diplomatic resolution to the nuclear issue,
we are mindful that another key test is whether we begin to see
progress on human rights. We call on the government to allow the UN
Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Iran to visit the country.
Our sanctions on Iran’s human rights abusers will continue and so
will our support for the fundamental rights of all Iranians. The
Iranian people deserve the same right to express themselves online
and through social media as their leaders enjoy.

Closer to home, we note
modest steps toward economic reform in Cuba, but we condemn
continued arrests of human rights activists and other government
critics. As we mark the fourth year of his imprisonment, we call on
the Cuban government to release our innocent, jailed compatriot,
Alan Gross. Ultimately, it will be the Cuban people who drive
economic and political reforms. And that’s why President Obama has
increased the flow of resources and information to ordinary
citizens. The Cuban people deserve the full support of the United
States and of an entire region that has committed to promote and
defend democracy through the Inter American Democratic Charter.

These extreme examples
are in many ways the most clear-cut. They are egregious cases,
where the weight of our concern and the tenor of our relationship
make it easier to chart a clear policy course. In other countries,
it is more difficult to disentangle our competing interests and to
give full primacy to our values. So, let me talk a bit more about
these tougher cases.

In this new century,
there are few relationships more complex or important than the one
between the United States and China. Building a constructive
relationship with China is crucial to the future security and
prosperity of the world as a whole. We value China’s cooperation on
certain pressing security challenges, from North Korea to Iran. Our
trade relationship, one of the largest in the world, supports
countless American jobs. And that’s precisely why we have a stake
in what kind of power China will become, and that is why human
rights are integral to our engagement with China.

So the United States
speaks clearly and consistently about our human rights concerns with
the Chinese government at every level, including at this year’s
summit between President Obama and President Xi at Sunnylands. U.S.
officials engage their Chinese counterparts directly on specific
cases of concern -- like that of Liu Xiaobo and Xu Zhiyong -- as
well as about broader patterns of restrictive behavior. And we
voice our condemnation publicly when violations occur.

The Chinese people are
facing increasing restrictions on their freedoms of expression,
assembly and association. This is short-sighted. When people in
China cannot hold public officials to account for corruption,
environmental abuses, worker and consumer safety, or public health
crises, problems that affect China as well as the world go
unaddressed. When courts imprison political dissidents who merely
urge respect for China’s own laws, no one in China, including
Americans doing business there, can feel secure. When ethnic and
religious minorities -- such as Tibetans and Uighurs -- are denied
their fundamental freedoms, the trust that holds diverse societies
together is undermined. Such abuses diminish China’s potential from
the inside.

The same is true of
Russia. We often can cooperate with Russia on nonproliferation,
arms control, counterterrorism and other vital interests. But, as
we meet these mutual challenges, we don’t remain silent about the
Russian government’s systematic efforts to curtail the actions of
Russian civil society, to stigmatize the LGBT community, to coerce
neighbors like Ukraine who seek closer integration with Europe, or
to stifle human rights in the North Caucasus. We deplore selective
justice and the prosecution of those who protest the corruption and
cronyism that is sapping Russia’s economic future and limiting its
potential to play its full role on the world stage.

In the Middle East and
North Africa, we are navigating the security challenges of the Arab
Spring and helping partners lay the foundations for a future rooted
in greater peace, opportunity, democracy and respect for human
rights. In Egypt, we said we could not conduct business as usual
with the interim government after it used large-scale violence
against civilians and detained opposition leaders earlier this
year. So, we withheld the delivery of some major weapons systems
pending progress towards democratic reforms and inclusive
governance. We have a stake in promoting inclusive politics in
Egypt to avoid driving government opponents into the arms of
extremist groups and condemning the country to further instability.
We have spoken out about the deleterious impact the new
demonstrations law and its heavy-handed enforcement is having on
freedom of assembly in Egypt, and we will continue to urge
non-violence and progress on Egypt’s roadmap towards an inclusive
and stable democracy.

Bahrain is a long
standing partner in the region. As home to our Fifth Fleet, a
stable Bahrain is of great strategic importance to the United
States. So we serve both our principles and our security by
pressing for national reconciliation between the government and the
opposition. We are discouraging actions on both sides that sharpen
religious divisions or escalate violence. And, through concrete
actions, including withholding portions of our military assistance,
we are urging the government to lift restrictions on civil society,
to treat members of the opposition in accordance with the rule of
law, and to engage in a deliberate reform process.

Our commitment to
Israel’s security is unprecedented and enduring. Thus, in the West
Bank, we condemn incitement and violence against Israelis. At the
same time, we reject settler violence against Palestinians. The
daily humiliations of administrative detentions, land confiscations,
and home demolitions must end for a culture of peace to take root.

Even as we address such
pressing national challenges, the United States continues to lead in
promoting a global human rights agenda for the 21st century. This
starts with our intensive efforts to protect and empower women and
girls. No society can reach its full potential when half its people
are held back. That’s why, through the Equal Futures Partnership,
we’re working with countries around the world to fulfill specific
commitments that elevate the status of women, such as developing
constitutional protections for gender equality or extending benefits
for women-owned businesses.

A full third of women --
one in three -- experience either sexual or physical violence in
their lifetimes. Gender-based violence is an affront to human
dignity, but it also threatens public health, economic stability,
and the security of nations. So, as part of our commitment to end
this scourge, we’re helping equip first responders to protect women
and girls from rape as soon as conflicts or disasters occur, and
we’re launching a cabinet-level task force to raise awareness and
coordinate our efforts to combat violence against women and girls.

No one -- no one --
should face discrimination because of who they are or whom they
love. So, we are working to lead internationally, as we have
domestically, on LGBT issues. This summer, President Obama
championed equal treatment for LGBT persons while standing next to
the President of Senegal, a country that is making progress on
democratic reforms, but like too many nations, still places criminal
restrictions on homosexuality. President Obama met with LGBT and
other civil society activists in St. Petersburg, Russia to discuss
the restrictions they face in Russia. At the UN Human Rights
Council and in regional organizations, such as the Organization of
American States and the Pan American Health Organization, the United
States has fought for and won support for resolutions that recognize
the rights and protect the safety and dignity of LGBT persons. We
created the Global Equality Fund to protect LGBT rights and those
who defend them.

To support embattled
civil society, which is the engine that drives greater transparency
and accountability everywhere, including here in the United States
we founded and are working through the Open Government Partnership
to develop and share best practices. We’re coordinating with the
Community of Democracies to pressure repressive regimes. The State
Department led the creation of the Lifeline partnership, which
provides emergency assistance to civil society organizations. We
are reaching out directly to all of you in the NGO community to
learn about how we can best support and train your sister
organizations around the world. And, our support for young leaders
across Africa focuses, in part, on empowering those who are
committed to working for an Africa that is buttressed, as President
Obama said, by “strong institutions” rather than by “strongmen.”

This isn’t an exhaustive
summary of our efforts. From Rakhine State in Burma to Jonglei
State in South Sudan, we are working to protect vulnerable
civilians, especially minorities, to heal rifts in communities, and
to press for accountability so that the worst forms of violence do
not go unpunished. The modern-day slavery of human trafficking
remains a stain on our collective conscience, and President Obama
has redoubled our efforts to end human trafficking in all its
forms.

We are promoting
internet freedom while still guarding against threats from those who
would use the connective power of new technologies to harm us. And,
as part of our comprehensive strategy to help prevent genocide and
mass atrocities, we’re developing the tools and partnerships that
can warn us before violence ignites and strengthen our capacity to
respond. For example, to take on the deteriorating situation and
increasing violence in the Central African Republic, we’re working
this week at the UN to support African Union forces protecting
civilians, to provide humanitarian assistance, and to investigate
human rights abuses so the perpetrators can be held accountable.

Finally, our commitment
to human rights means we must live our values at home. And, here
too, our work is not nearly complete. If we are not walking the
talk, we undermine the United States’ ability to lead
internationally. President Obama has an extremely strong record of
promoting human rights domestically -- from the first bill he signed
into law as President, the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, to his
support for voter protection, and his commitment to full equality
for our LGBT brothers and sisters and for repealing Don’t Ask, Don’t
Tell. This Administration is deeply committed to ensuring that all
men and women are treated equally.

In 2009, as UN
Ambassador, I was proud to sign, on behalf of the United States, the
UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. But,
almost five years later, as you know, we are still urging the Senate
to approve this convention. I am very glad you’ll be hearing
tomorrow from the great former Senator Bob Dole, who has been a
relentless advocate for this cause. We need Congress to join with
us to show that America doesn’t just press other nations to abide by
international treaties and norms while we stand on the sidelines.
Rather we must lead by example.

That is why too
President Obama remains deeply determined to close the detention
facility at Guantanamo. We have new envoys at the Departments of
State and Defense dedicated to this cause. In August, we completed
the first successful detainee transfers under the onerous
restrictions that Congress enacted in 2011, and we expect to
announce more transfers in the near future. We continue to urge
Congress to remove these restrictions, which have severely hampered
our efforts to close the Guantanamo detention facility. And I want
to thank Human Rights First and your coalition for your energetic
support for closing Guantanamo.

More broadly, after over
a decade of war, we continue to transition from a perpetual war
footing while robustly protecting America’s interests and security
around the world. Earlier this year, President Obama announced new
guidelines governing the use of lethal force in our counterterrorism
operations outside areas of active hostilities, including the use of
drones. Congress is briefed on every strike taken, and we are
committed to sharing as much information as possible with the
American people about our efforts. Over time, continued progress
against al Qaeda and associated terrorist groups should reduce the
need for such actions.

More recently, President
Obama directed a review of our signals intelligence collection.
Intelligence saves lives -- American lives and those of our allies
and partners. We are committed to continuing to collect such
information to meet our critical security needs. At the same time,
we recognize that, in many countries, surveillance is an instrument
of repression, which is why we must use the unprecedented power that
technology affords us responsibly, while respecting the values of
privacy, government transparency, and accountability that all people
share.

In closing, I want to
stress that our nation, and we in the Obama Administration, benefit
enormously from groups like Human Rights First. Your analyses, your
perspectives -- and, yes, your criticisms -- help shape and
improve our decision making. It may be decades before we see how
all the challenges and choices of today play out. But, the promise
we make to you is this: The United States will keep working every
day to uphold the rights and freedoms that belong to all the people
of this earth.

Over the last 20 years,
I’ve seen up close the evil that humans can perpetrate against one
another -- from churchyards in Rwanda to dirt camps in Darfur, from
war-torn Sarajevo to burned-out death traps in Tripoli. More
recently, I chaired meetings in the Situation Room after the Assad
regime unleashed the world’s largest chemical weapons attack in 25
years. I’ve seen the worst of man’s inhumanity. But I also know
the bewildering resilience of the human spirit. In so many unlikely
places, I’ve seen the hope that pushes its way to the surface,
unbidden, in the most dire circumstances.

I often think of the
little boy, just 3 or 4 years old, whom I met in 1994 while visiting
an IDP camp in war-torn rural Angola. I didn’t get his name. He
was just one in a group of curious kids who came out to greet our
delegation. He had short legs, a distended belly, and only a torn,
dirty t-shirt to cover his little body. Looking around at his
hellish surroundings was enough to sap the hope out of the most
optimistic person. But that little boy defied logic. He just
glowed -- with a smile so innocent and infectious I will carry it to
my grave. As I moved toward him, drawn almost involuntarily, I
suddenly realized I had nothing of worth to offer him, except
perhaps the well-worn baseball hat on my head. When I took it off
and set it on his unsuspecting head, he just beamed, radiating
nothing but joy. The poet Emily Dickinson tells us that, “Hope is
the thing with feathers that perches in the soul.” So, for me, hope
will always be that young boy’s smile.

Everything I’ve seen and
done in my career since then has only left me more convinced of the
common yearnings that stir in all of us. I have no idea what
happened to that little boy in Cuito, Angola, but there are millions
more just like him all over the Earth -- each deserving of the same
rights, the same security, and the same hope that our own children
enjoy. Their future is bound up with our own. It is for their
sake, and ours, that we stand fast for human rights. For their
sake, and ours, we hold resolutely to our founding principles in
this complicated and often dangerous world. And, it is for the sake
of our common humanity and our shared future, that, even if
imperfectly, we keep striving each day to build a world that is more
just, more equal, more safe, and more free.